Bentsen Palm RV Village

Still in Mission, Texas until the end of the month.

Sunday, February 12 - Rain again, don’t need to say more.  So now we are wondering what to do next winter.  South Florida is a long drive to get where it’s warm and it is expensive.  Central Florida can still be cold and it isn’t pretty in our opinion. We like the Gulf coast the best, but it can be cold there if it is cold in Montgomery.  The southwest is windy and dusty - don’t want that.  So what to do - stay home and then take trips to Gulf coast if it’s pleasant - who knows. [I vote for Brazil]

Monday, February 13 -  Light rain and cloudy until the afternoon when the sun came out.  And it got warmer, so we got to have cocktails outside!

Some observations about life on the border – there are a lot more Mexicans than Americans.  All radio stations are Mexican, except for three religious stations. They do not integrate with us.  Everything is bilingual with Spanish being the first language.  Their culture is not ours.  I know that they were here when the Europeans arrived, so they must feel that this is their land.  This is a problem for the government and it’s not being handled, but I don’t think anyone else has any way to handle this either.

Don writes: Before the Spanish came, what we call Mexicans were the same blood stock as the inhabitants of what is now called the United States. Canada too. Many present day Americans have a soft spot for Indians. I wonder why this does not extend to Mexicans?

Tuesday, February 14 -  Happy Valentines Day.  Started the day by cleaning the refrigerator and defrosting the freezer.  See it’s fun on the road.  Once again the sun came out in the afternoon.  We have spent time planning the trip out of Texas, but it’s still two weeks before we leave here.  Got more veggies from the vegetable man.  Sure do like someone bringing fresh vegetables and it’s an easy walk to get there.  Also, it’s very cheap.  But today, we drove because I just had to have a watermelon along with the other things I bought.

Wednesday, February 15 -  We went back to the flea market and picked up a couple of things and then to H E B,  a Texas supermarket.  We enjoy it - they make fresh tortillas which are yummy.  Food is less expensive here, at least the fruits and vegetables.  We got back in time to rest before the margarita party.  We sat outside in the very pleasant weather and had a enjoyable chat with Jim & Gayle and a couple from Texas, Don & Donna.  Afterwards the weather was pleasant enough to soak in the hot tub.

Thursday, February 16 - We had planned to take the kayak trip today, but due to the weather forecast this morning, it was cancelled.  So, other than doing a load of laundry we didn’t do too much in the morning.  After lunch we sat in the palapa and played Mexican Train, then had Happy Hour, followed by dinner and another game of Mexican Train.  As you can tell, it’s very busy in the campground.

Friday, February 17 - A gray, cloudy and overcast day, but at least it was warm.  Also I had a little stomach bug, so not too perky all day.  Don went to the palapa for cocktails.

Saturday, February 18 -  A great day!  The sun was shinning and it got warmer all day, but not too warm.  We went back to the birding center.  We did take a little walk also and it felt so good to be out in the sunshine and pleasant weather.  The green jays are so beautiful and we just enjoy watching them.  After nap, we went swimming and soaked in the hot tub and chatted with some fellow campers, Kathy and Donald from Arkansas.  Then we went to the palapa for cocktails.  It’s very pleasant and we wish we had known about the happy hour party sooner, but it’s informal so it’s not on the calendar.  We had good news - our friends, Bill & Ruby will arrive on Tuesday for a week.

Sunday, February 19 – I spent three hours washing the KoKo’s roof. Dirtier than it’s ever been. I think Dorothy was eating bon-bons while I labored. Then lunch, nap and finish a book. Now, it is pizza party time. I will wash the rest of KoKo tomorrow?

How we feel about concrete parking. Anyone who knows us, has to know we seldom park on a hard surface such concrete pads in RV parks. We tried it again this year in the search for warm weather. Well, it has been been warm here, but there have been many more overcast days than sunny days. There is no escape from taxes or winter.

This is one of the nicest RV parks we have seen and it is reasonable in price. It stays full. Some people have been coming here since it opened six years back. They like it. It’s OK with us. We have little in common with most of the other “campers” as they only park on concrete, while we prefer to camp where we have nothing but horizon. They are interested in hook-ups. We are interested in a view. It’s two different worlds. It’s a life-style choice.